Riots spread to other West Germany cities

ByWith Analysis from Monitor Correspondents around the worldEdited by Mark MuthSeptember 24, 1981

West Berlin
— Rioting flared in cities across West Germany yesterday after a young demonstrator died in this city's long-running war between police and squatters. The death of 18-year-old Hans-Jurgen Rattay also provoked a political furor. Opposition parties in Parliament said they would press a vote of no confidence against West Berlin leaders who ordered police to evict squatters from eight houses on Sept. 22. About 150 houses here are occupied by squatters protesting against a chronic housing shortage and high rents.

As news of the death spread, street battles between young leftists and police erupted in Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen, Aachen, Freiburg, Bielefeld, Karlsruhe, and Munster.